Meeting more environmental objectives

The National Capital Commission’s (NCC) 2011-2012 Annual Environment Report is now available on the NCC’s website. The annual environment report provides an account of the NCC’s environmental management approach and shows the progress made toward meeting its objectives.

“The NCC made progress across the areas that were set as priorities for action,” said Michelle Comeau, Senior Vice-President, Environment, Capital Lands and Parks Branch at the NCC. “NCC staff and stakeholders continue to demonstrate a high level of engagement toward environmental stewardship in the Capital Region.” Read the rest of this entry →

Capital Vélo Fest is proud to announce the launch of Capital Vélo Rally on Saturday, September 15, 2012, in partnership with 8 Locks’ Flat restaurant.

Capital Vélo Rally is a fun way to explore the capital region on a bike.

The route will guide participants along low-traffic streets and bike paths. Riders must search for the answers to quirky clues and quizzes and test their cycling skills in zany cycling competitions along the way. The rally starts at 9:00am at 8 Locks’ Flat restaurant on the Rideau Canal near the Corkstown footbridge, and will be completed by 3:00pm. The route is about 20km in length and returns to the restaurant for food, beverages and the awarding of prizes to winning teams. The format is similar to a traditional car rally, but people travel by bike! Read the rest of this entry →

Despite some uncooperative weather, the fifth annual Rideau Canal Festival was a huge success, according to the festival\’s executive director.

While a fireworks show had to be cancelled because of the hot, dry weather and a flotilla along the canal had to be scrapped when that dry weather turned to heavy rain, Nhanci Wright said huge crowds descended on festival locations for some unique and engaging programming.

The fireworks show at the Rideau Canal Festival on Saturday night has been cancelled due to drought conditions in the region, say organizers. The fireworks will be replaced by alternate, less flammable programming.

Festival organizers have been working with Ottawa Fire Services who were concerned about the tinder-dry conditions in the city in the last month.

On July 17, 1717, King George I sat on a barge on the Thames and listened to the new entertainment he’d ordered up for the occasion – Handel’s Water Music, which musicians performed on an adjacent barge. The king liked his royal-command treat so much, he ordered it to be played three times. The musicians who performed Water Music while floating down the Rideau Canal on Sunday morning likely know the feeling.

The National Capital Commission rolled out five projects Thursday that it hopes will add some vibrancy and colour to the world’s largest skating rink and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The projects include a reading garden area, a mobile food truck offering gourmet foods, an urban beach and patio area, ice cream push carts and a one-day decorated bike ride that is vying for a Guinness world record.

The winning projects are among 42 submitted bids the NCC received last year after it asked for proposals on ways to liven up the Rideau Canal between the Government Conference Centre and Bronson Avenue. The projects will be rolled out over the summer months, and are part of a pilot project that will last for three years.

“It was very important for us to turn these projects around and have something this summer. We were very pleased with the response we got,” said Marie Lemay, CEO of the NCC, at a press conference Thursday near the Corktown Footbridge, where the projects were unveiled.

The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival launched its 2012 fundraising season on March 6.

Among the speakers at the launch event was Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley, Honorary Chair of the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation.

“This is the largest dragon boat festival in North America and to date it has raised over $2.4 million which is invested right back here within our community,” said Councillor Hubley

Noting the festival’s support of seven local charities, Councillor Hubley highlighted the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa and its mental health walk-in clinic as he spoke of the tragic loss of his 15-year-old son, Jamie, who suffered from depression and committed suicide last October.

Despite the mild weather that closed the Rideau Canal, the National Capital Commission says that Winterlude 2012 was one of the best attended to date.

Preliminary attendance numbers from a Winterlude research study indicate that 695,000 individuals attended the 2012 event. Of this, 62 per cent were area residents and 38 per cent were visitors from out-of-town. Final survey results will be available later this month.